This 1-bedroom at 400 N. LaSalle in River North just came on the market listed about 43% under the 2006 purchase price.

Yes, it is bank owned.

From the pictures, it appears to have the kitchen and bathroom intact.

The kitchen has granite counter tops but white appliances.

The north facing unit has central air, washer/dryer in the unit and parking is available to lease or buy in the building.

If you recall, the building never sold out from the developer. Last June, there were still over 100 units available which were then bought in bulk by a real estate investor (who has subsequently rented them out.)

According to the Tribune, that real estate investor paid, on average, less than $195,000 per unit.

Sabrina, Do you know if the investor who bought the 100 units bought mostly 1 bedroom or 2 bedrooms. I would think that makes a huge differnece on whether this is a good deal.

I’m looking for something like this — a 1 or 2 bedroom downtown for younger sister (med student) to live in for 4-5 years. Something close to same cost or less as rent. It would be something we plan to keep in the family as a rental long term….not looking for a flip…just long term investment/cash flow. Also, might keep the property as a pied-a-terre if we move to the burbs when kids hit school age.

The assessments don’t seem too bad here for a full amenity downtown building, especially given the economic situation of the building. I know this building has lots of short sales/foreclosures…so this unit would be hard to resale. What are the other cons? Does anyone have knowledge of the association finances, sound proofing and/or other building issues?

The ask would be an okay price if it included parking. Without parking, I’ll guess that it goes for around $165k.

Also, I’m not sure how well you can compare the price of a single unit to the average price of a 100+ units bought in bulk. The bulk buyer has more leverage, provide more benefit by taking all the units off the developer’s hand, can minimize transaction costs, etc.

It’s IMPOSSIBLE (in my opinion) to make the numbers work with hi-rises. The asst. are just too high. I have a 1bd/1bth in LP that I bought in 2002 for $205K and I rent for $1375. My ast. are $125 and my taxes are $2800/year. Beautiful tree-lined street and the unit was fully gut-rehabbed in 2002. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to make the numbers work in a high-rise. I just don’t see it.

Am I the only one or do other investors see it this way too? Would love to get thoughts (no smart comments please

“Unbelievable that this mediocre 1-bed, in this mediocre building would ever sell for anywhere near that price.”

They bought then in order to not be priced out forever. They didn’t wait to buy, they bought to wait. Winners take action, and they were real winners. They weren’t making any more land, you know. Besides, Suzanne researched it.

These condos are going to get killed. There aren’t as many corporate jobs to support this segment and they aren’t paying as much. It’s going to get real brutal for 1/1s in swanky high-rise neighborhoods as thinking one is Bud Foxx is an illusion that just can’t be maintained in this economy.

Yeah, unfortunately, if you need or desire downtown, pretty much everything is a highrise. If I buy this its also for my sister to live in for 4-5 years…she has no car so some neighborhoods won’t work, and later, when she starts clinicals and might have a car, she will have to to go to the hospital at all hours so having doorman/security is appealing. This, at list price comes to $1726 per month, financed at 6%, which is close to rental costs. Given that rents are supposed to increase in over the next few years, and the fact that we would keep it as a rental, I wonder if makes sense to buy. She is here for 5 years, possibly more if she matches for residency here.

“iven that rents are supposed to increase in over the next few years, and the fact that we would keep it as a rental, I wonder if makes sense to buy. She is here for 5 years, possibly more if she matches for residency here.”

All of your statements seem sensible to make a case for ownership (and this unit isn’t likely to fall too much further if at all), except one: future rental rates.

Don’t assume rents are going to go up just because the pro-RE industry press is saying so. It’s the only thing they have left to cling to try to improve public sentiment towards future real estate valuations. Those projections are all PR/marketing garbage.

“local: shouldn’t a med student incurring hundreds of thousands in student loans be renting something for far less than $1,700 a month? Maybe it’s just me.”

No HD you’d be amazed. When I was in b-school there were a lot of people (at least 30%) who not only didn’t bring any savings to the table but also assumed their maximum student loan amount was their given budget from the school. A lot of them lived at 340 On the Park! Not sure they all got wall street/hedge fund or consulting jobs to cover that.

And that was in boom times with people with years of earnings history.

“bob – why should local buy for his sister who is a med student? sounds like a ridiculous cockamamie idea, or, an ill-fated investment. Maybe both.”

Given it’s already a foreclosure it likely won’t be too much of an ill-fated investment. Yeah it _might_ fall 50k from here, but it sounds like a local wants to own a piece of the RE pie and I encourage him to do so.

I am counting on future landlords with lower cost bases to rent to me downtown at far lower rents. 😀

Depends on their means , i’d say. I had classmates in med school that lived in their parents/families swanky intown places in river north or gold coast , but i’d say 95% of them never paid more than 1100-1200 for rent.

As a resident i pay ~ 1800 a month for my place in the gold coast…but its WAY nicer than this crapbox.

“shouldn’t a med student incurring hundreds of thousands in student loans be renting something for far less than $1,700 a month? Maybe it’s just me.”

Dude, the *family* is looking for some place for her to live. Really think she’s borrowing every penny? I don’t know that many docs, and I know a ton whose parents paid for med school, if not entirely, in large part. Knew one whose parents bought him a 2 br in Lake Point Tower–on the lakeside–for med school at U of C.

SO IT IS JUST ME. I’m the weirdo. Sorry. It’s perfectly normal, and hell, anon(tfo) knows a guy that lived in Lake Point towers during med school.

“anon (tfo) on June 20th, 2011 at 3:13 pm

“shouldn’t a med student incurring hundreds of thousands in student loans be renting something for far less than $1,700 a month? Maybe it’s just me.”

Dude, the *family* is looking for some place for her to live. Really think she’s borrowing every penny? I don’t know that many docs, and I know a ton whose parents paid for med school, if not entirely, in large part. Knew one whose parents bought him a 2 br in Lake Point Tower–on the lakeside–for med school at U of C.”

“You also admittedly have access to a trust fund, and, you have income as a resident. Which in the scheme of things, if that’s how you want to spend your money, it doesn’t seem imprudent.”

yeah, true. to be honest i don’t really see a point in paying 1750 / month for a medical student. it’s 4 years…the only schools i can think of downtown are UIC and Northwestern, and living in university village around UIC should cost 1200 or so for a nice condo upgraded unit tops, and the rentals at places around northwestern ( 401 ontario, etc ) are never too far past the neighborhood of 1300 or 1400. If this kid is going to Loyola or Uchicago, shouldn’t be looking anywhere near river north anyways.

“homedelete on June 20th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
local: shouldn’t a med student incurring hundreds of thousands in student loans be renting something for far less than $1,700 a month? Maybe it’s just me.”

The 1 bedroom medical school dorms (not nearly as nice)at NW rent for 1400 per month….so 1750 for owning seems more reasonable than throwing that kind of money away. She has the monthly cash flow and woudl cover my closing costs, just not the down payment. Given today’s lending climate, I doubt she could qualify for the loan. I could finance and/or pay cash. She would be a great tenant, but seems to only make sense if rents stay fairly stable or increase or the market appreciates so that selling makes sense some day. Yes, there is a chance that either or both could not happen, but the stock market is not doing great now and the time to buy is when the market is low. So the question is, how much lower could these units go? Are their better downtown options? What is the likelihood I could get it for less, if all cash?

“The 1 bedroom medical school dorms (not nearly as nice)at NW rent for 1400 per month….so 1750 for owning seems more reasonable than throwing that kind of money away.”

I think the first part of the education bubble to pop will be living on campus. Schools NEVER adjust down their rents but private landlords do. People will start seeing that $1,400 per month is ridiculous when you can live across the street in a much nicer place for the same price or cheaper.

Who lives in a dorm in medical school anyway? Half of juniors and most seniors undergrad live off campus by my estimate.

Dorms should not be what you are shopping for nor what you are comping to while in med school (unless there is really no other housing options around–not the case at NWU).

Yeah I was thinking about some other schools in bad areas–ie: I could see living in a dorm @ UPenn med school in order to be near hospital during residency.

During the bubble schools & universities got a piece of the real estate itch via building “luxury” dorms and jacking up rents. Of course Aunt Sallie was there to ensure everyone can live in a luxury dorm for $1,100+/month. Flatscreen TVs, workout rooms & all.

Used to be you goto the gym for working out but that would require…hmm…work.

““SO IT IS JUST ME. I’m the weirdo. Sorry. It’s perfectly normal, and hell, anon(tfo) knows a guy that lived in Lake Point towers during med school.””

One of the other pre-docs shared a crappy walk up in hyde park with 4 others and slept in the pantry (while the other four had normal bedrooms) to save a few dollars every month. Dunno if they paid $1700 total for the place, and it wasn’t worth that much if they did.

I had a little vintage studio I paid $550/month for that was nicer than most of the high rises my classmates were renting. It was larger and had more character. Only draw back was that it was a mile from campus.

The rich foreign students were the ones that always amazed me. Folks from South America or Asia with no school loans, driving 3 series bimmers, and living in $3k a month rentals/condos.

Sure, $1,700/mo for a med student to live in RN is a bit lavish (and, as others have noted, odd, given the location of most schools).

But what amount should med/law/mba students be paying? While renting a 2 bed with a roomie might work, that’s pretty rough going as a post-college adult who needs a quiet space. So what’s a ball-park to rent a little one-bed (seems there aren’t many studios in Chicago, compared to NY) in a fairly safe, pleasant location with convenient access to such schools? $1,000?

That means the lavish-living (i.e., $1,700/mo) grad student is spending roughly $8,400/year more. That’s an extra $33k, $25k and $17k in total loans for the med/law/mba student, respectively, over the course of the education.

I’ll defer to the resident docs and business folks as to whether such supplemental borrowing is insane. I’d admit that I probably borrowed around $25k more than I “needed” throughout law school (though certainly not to live in a full-service high rise; it was more for trips to see the fiance/wife while still living in different cities and supplement life in other ways that made being a 30-something student more comfortable). Do I wish I had $25k less in loans? Of course – that’s real money. But I also wouldn’t say that I lived like a lawyer while in law school, nor has that supplemental borrowing caused me to now live like a law student.

I can’t relate to anyone, even people in similar financial circumstances. And especially anyone in the top 50% or the bottom 50%. I think all poor people are the scourge of the earth, and I think the same of rich people. Poor people are those with less than me; rich are those with more than me.

“Kevin on June 20th, 2011 at 3:55 pm

Is it just me or does homedelete have a very hard time relating to anyone in a different financial circumstance than his own?

Not trying to get personal but we all have different circumstances and what might be right for you, isn’t necessarily the only acceptable answer.”

I think everyone should rent a studio in uptown; and I think that anyone that bought post-1998 is a god damn idiot and fool, and anyone that wants to buy now is a fool and a moron. And anyone even thinking of buying must be a dope or on dope. And anyone that chooses to live in RN or LP is a licentious and dissolute person with no morals or respect for money and will be eating cat food in retirement.

“I’ll defer to the resident docs and business folks as to whether such supplemental borrowing is insane. I’d admit that I probably borrowed around $25k more than I “needed” throughout law school (though certainly not to live in a full-service high rise; it was more for trips to see the fiance/wife while still living in different cities and supplement life in other ways that made being a 30-something student more comfortable).”

You already had an earnings history (even if not a pre-professional/suit job like MBAs), and I think most would consider taking trips to see your spouse as an essential expense.

Had you been 22 and taking frequent trips across the country to see your GF (which ultimately didn’t pan out) I’d might use a bit of revisionist history and call that a bit foolish.

A lot of students max out on the loans to live in a full service highrise and feel no hesitation dropping $1,500+/month on rent only because they feel the financial aid package is the school giving them an implicit backing to do so.

“I think everyone should rent a studio in uptown; and I think that anyone that bought post-1998 is a god damn idiot and fool, and anyone that wants to buy now is a fool and a moron. And anyone even thinking of buying must be a dope or on dope. And anyone that chooses to live in RN or LP is a licentious and dissolute person with no morals or respect for money and will be eating cat food in retirement.”

“I think everyone should rent a studio in uptown; and I think that anyone that bought post-1998 is a god damn idiot and fool, and anyone that wants to buy now is a fool and a moron. And anyone even thinking of buying must be a dope or on dope. And anyone that chooses to live in RN or LP is a licentious and dissolute person with no morals or respect for money and will be eating cat food in retirement.”

“A lot of students max out on the loans to live in a full service highrise and feel no hesitation dropping $1,500+/month on rent only because they feel the financial aid package is the school giving them an implicit backing to do so.”

BOB HOW DARE YOU JUDGE OTHERS IN DIFFERENT FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAN YOURS?

(just ignore the recent stats that show that there are more outstanding student loans than credit cards, and a sizable chunk of that credit card debt is held by college students or recent grads).

MANY COLLEGE STUDENTS HAVE RICH PARENTS WHO PAY FOR THEIR COLLEGE AND THEIR TUITION AND THEY DON’T NEED TO INCUR DEBT

(again ignore the student loan debt behind the curtain for most of the population who has to borrow to pay for school, most of the debt being carried by the young).

“(again ignore the student loan debt behind the curtain for most of the population who has to borrow to pay for school, most of the debt being carried by the young).”

At least the med school students still have decent employment prospects. Same can’t be said of MBAs or lawyers in this economy. Although universities will goto great lengths to juke stats showing everyone lands at Goldman or Skadden.

B-school students definitely tend to live a pretty nice life. I ate out a couple of time per week. Went on school trips. Dressed nicely. Gym membership. I really didn’t have to budget all that much.

No way in hell I was going to go back to living like a broke college student after being in the work force for a few years making a decent income. I only had loans to cover living expenses while in school and I don’t regret them one bit.

She has no undergrad debt but is financing her medical education, which will cost a fair bit. Similiar one bedrooms in other buildings near NU rent for 1400 but those rents may go up and her rent would flat if I bought and rented to her during medical school and possible residency (if she matches here). The school does not recommend that students live far from downtown during their 3rd and 4th years b/c of call schedules, etc.. She has a decent job she can return to during her first two summers off which would cover the rent during those months. She definately does not want a roomate b/c she gets up early to study and goes to bed fairly early. No fun studying when roomie is enjoying the nightlife.

“I only had loans to cover living expenses while in school and I don’t regret them one bit.”

The students on scholarships or with enough savings or family money to cover tuition at b-school are the exception not the norm. I never blamed them for choosing to live a nicer standard of living–its a different ballpark coming out with 40k student loans and 100k+.

One former wall streeter was disappointed he never explored financial aid and was instead paying cash when he found out our rate for federal loans for the first year was sub-2% (after qualifying for discounts).

You’re using the fact that this particular apartment returned from something like a 3 cap (ie, trading solely on speculation, aka clearly insane) to something like a 6 (ok in the current interest environment) that the rent will go down? At the current asking rent for similar units, and assuming taxes dropping to 1.75% of sale price (maybe a bad assumption), it’s ‘worth’ maybe $165k as a cashflow prop (imo). So it’s got a solid 12.5% drop in it before it would make sense for an owner to drop the asking rent, at least from a pure carrying cost perspective.

Which doesn’t mean that rents *won’t* go down, just that the price history of this property isn’t good support for that hypothesis.

Yes, Bob, rents could go down…but you have the same risks if you invest in stock or other types of investments…there’s also the risk of inflation. I’m carrying most of the risk and she’s locked at a price she know she can afford. It may not be the cheapest or best but its stable and that adds some benefit to someone who is going to be living on a fixed income for quite a while. I’m not a cheerleader for the real estate market, its just at some point, there will be a bottom. Maybe its here, maybe its not…but if your close to rent parity, then maybe its not a bad deal. I wouldn’t buy it strickly for intevestment purposes but there are other benefits….sister has nice place to live at a rent she can afford and I’ll probably either rent it it later or keep as an intown later in life.

“Which doesn’t mean that rents *won’t* go down, just that the price history of this property isn’t good support for that hypothesis.”

No I meant compare this property as setting the new baseline for rents vs. the others in this building that were sold at higher valuations whose landlords likely need higher rents to cover their cost bases and rents could fall.

“I wouldn’t buy it strickly for intevestment purposes but there are other benefits….sister has nice place to live at a rent she can afford and I’ll probably either rent it it later or keep as an intown later in life.”

In all honesty your plan isn’t a bad one. Just trying to separate out the speculation from the other, more concrete things.

Speaking about rents going down we are trying to rent my wifes condo in the south loop. It has been on craigs list with no real success. We have rented the unit out to friends or friends of friends for years with great success. Anyone have any tips for listing a unit in order to find a tenant for a 1 bedroom in the south loop?

My prediction—this will go under contract by the 25th day and sell within 5-7% of the asking price. +++ for the balcony and in unit laundry. Is somewhat updated but some SS appliances would make it look much better. Ok—so it has a ‘shape’ – at least it is not a white square box like many in the city. The cost to own (20%) down is roughly the same amount as to rent it. There is a real lack of options in RN for newer-ish units with in unit laundry below $200K.

“She has no undergrad debt but is financing her medical education, which will cost a fair bit. Similiar one bedrooms in other buildings near NU rent for 1400 but those rents may go up and her rent would flat if I bought and rented to her during medical school and possible residency (if she matches here). The school does not recommend that students live far from downtown during their 3rd and 4th years b/c of call schedules, etc.. She has a decent job she can return to during her first two summers off which would cover the rent during those months. She definately does not want a roomate b/c she gets up early to study and goes to bed fairly early. No fun studying when roomie is enjoying the nightlife”

Poor planning. She’s already borrowing 50 grand a year for tuition and then you want her to pay closing costs and add 1700+ per month on top of that for rent? are you serious? on top of food, health insurance, books, etc?

you’re not really doing your younger sibling any favors here. She doesn’t need to live in River north or the gold coast. the South loop is a nice and safe area a few red line or bus stops from northwestern and she can easily rent a 1 bed there for 1100-1200 dollars. Tell her to get a medical school roomie – they usually arent partying out late at night or getting up super late either. I’m sorry, there is NO REASON for someone on loans to have to live in a expensive one bedroom apartment on loans – if you can’t afford it, borrowing it isn’t the answer.

Borrowing loans for tuition and then spending so much of her loan money to pay the rent on a place ( that she doesn’t even own herself ) seems idiotic to me. The only reason to live at a place this expensive is if it’s not coming out of loan money or if a parent/sibling is paying for it. otherwise she will regret it when she comes out of residency with 400 grand of loans at the minimum. Also, betting on her to match in chicago isn’t a great idea either, it’s a competitive market. And if you think she will have time to work after second year, youre fooling yourself – she will have to take her boards and start clinical rotations. I doubt she will want to spend her 2 months of vacation after a grueling first year of medical school working a 9-5 job either.

Tell your sibling to grow up, 1700/month apartments aren’t for students on loans. Even medical students.

STOP TELLING OTHER PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE THEIR LIVES, EVEN IF THEY”RE TALKING COCKAMAMIE NONSENSE!

it’s none of your business how people spend their student loans, even if they graduate with $400k in loans and want to spend a good chunk of it on $1,700 a month rentals – in the STERLING of all buildings. Geez!

jp3, my parents are trying to rent a unit near Lake Shore and Hawthorne by Belmont Harbor. Craigslist has not gotten any interest. I think they are going to post signs and buy an ad with the Trib and then maybe try a realtor. I’m interested if anyone has any suggestions on marketing a rental condo.

Craigslist is the ONLY place I (and many others) look for apartment rentals.

I agree with chukdotcom- they are probably priced too high if it is not getting any interest. Is it in line with others in the building?

Also- pictures are KEY. If there are no pictures on the Craigslist ad- I skipped it.

EB- it should be hard to rent something in that location if it is priced correctly and looks halfway decently. Pictures, an ad with the trib and all of that is a waste of time. I repeat- Craigslist is the #1 place people look for apartments now.

Make sure it talks up amenities (in the unit and the building- if there are any.)

I would never list any of my properties on craigslist – my realtor once convinced me that it was a good idea and we got the weirdest people calling. Bottom line – if you have a nice place and want a decent renter, go through a realtor and the MLS. Craigslist is crawling with cheapskates, cheats and section 8 people. Also, if you are looking to rent a place, many of the landlords that advertise on craigslist are too cheap to give 1 month rent to a realtor – therefore, I assume they are going to be too cheap to make any repairs or listen to your concerns (think about it).

“The assessments don’t seem too bad here for a full amenity downtown building, especially given the economic situation of the building. I know this building has lots of short sales/foreclosures…so this unit would be hard to resale. What are the other cons? Does anyone have knowledge of the association finances, sound proofing and/or other building issues?”

Can anyone get a loan in this building? I wouldn’t think so (at least not FHA) given that one single investor owns more than 10% of the units.

Don’t forget- at every condo board meeting you are at the mercy of the largest investor (because he can outvote all of you.) So if he decides to upgrade the hallways with new carpeting (or decides not to)- then that is what he decides. Etc. Etc.

“Bottom line – if you have a nice place and want a decent renter, go through a realtor and the MLS. Craigslist is crawling with cheapskates, cheats and section 8 people. Also, if you are looking to rent a place, many of the landlords that advertise on craigslist are too cheap to give 1 month rent to a realtor – therefore, I assume they are going to be too cheap to make any repairs or listen to your concerns (think about it).”

It depends on the price point. A $5,000 a month Gold Coast condo? Sure- put it on the MLS with a realtor. A $1300 a month Lakeview 1-bedroom? Put it on Craigslist.

As I said- it is the ONLY place my friends and I look in Lakeview, LP, Ukranian Village, Bucktown etc.

There are plenty of ways for a renter to know that it is not owned by a big management company. Many renters seek this out. You’ll have to do due diligence of any renter off of Craigslist, of course. But that is true of any landlord (calling employers etc.)

Again- if it’s in a brand new high rise- it’s easier to use a realtor/MLS and pay the month’s rent. If not- go with Craigslist.

when in medical school or residency I always felt it was better to live within 5 minutes of the hospital. You are still a student and you need to live and breathe medicine while you are learning. There is no time for distractions, etc. – I never understood the people trying to “live their life” while doing residency – but then again, they never understood why they didn’t get great jobs…..

Parking back in the day (sorry I am really talking years and years ago) for NW B-school students was damn cheap. I am going to take a leap and think it currently still is for B-school and med-school students. So if local’s sis is attending NW, then she could live in Portage Park or anywhere once you give up walk-ability vs. say Hyde Park

“Parking back in the day (sorry I am really talking years and years ago) for NW B-school students was damn cheap.”

Yeah but as clio said you are living in proximity to campus to be able to respond to on-call and avoid the traffic. I was under the impression residency requires a lot of hours? Chicago traffic is no joke.

I’ve done 85+ hour workweeks with an hour commute each way and its very difficult, likely impossible for any extended period of time like more than six months.

If residency requires as many hours as I hear about (and not sure it does it could be like i-banking where they claim 90 all the time but it’s often 70-75) then I’d think it would be smart to live near the campus/hospital.

When logging so many hours commuting does make it that much more difficult. Then factor in a car issue and trying to get that resolved while working so many hours as well.

Mundane, routine things become major logistical hurdles in such situations. Don’t even get me started on Europe where it’s an extra order of magnitude harder due to there being very few stores with flexible hours (you better find & befriend a fellow ex-pat quick). Of course Americans who talk up Europe because they vacation there have no idea about these things.

Bob – you are totally right and I always wondered why students made things so hard on themselves by trying to live it up while studying – YOU CANNOT DO BOTH VERY WELL. I am an example of that – broken marriage and two screaming toddlers made my life hell during residency – almost had a nervous breakdown. My advice would be to concentrate on your studies/field and take it slow. There is still plenty of time to enjoy life.

“Bob – you are totally right and I always wondered why students made things so hard on themselves by trying to live it up while studying”

I think people underestimate Chicago traffic and also underestimate the value of each marginal hour of their time when they have time commitments like 70+ hours/week.

With time commitments like that personal stuff becomes prioritized quickly and easily:
You need to sleep (6-9 hrs depending on person).
You need to bathe.
You need to be at a specific location on time for the duration of that time commitment.
There are 168 hours in a week.

It becomes a bit of a backward math exercise. But most people think they can be superman and do it all and sacrifice sleep. That will wind up coming back to bite you big time in many ways.

It becomes a bit of a backward math exercise. But most people think they can be superman and do it all and sacrifice sleep. That will wind up coming back to bite you big time in many ways.

I’ll support that 1,000%. 100+ with no prob, thought because I functioned easily at the peak of the stress curve that I must function differently on the stress curve, and now I’m now like Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles “but I shoot with this hand”. Anything really stresses me out now and it makes me fall asleep. Totally ruined.

bob it’s surprisingly less arbitrary then you believe. It is a carefully developed formula based on weightings around who can screw who after being screwed first. Then you take the sq rt of that and multiply by 16.

It’s 2br/2ba. The kitchen is going to be redone but the bathrooms will remain vintage, they are really retro but clean. Rent includes cable and all utilities including central air except for electricity. Parking is available in the building for like $170/mo. There are views of Belmont Harbor from every room, even the walk in closet in the master.